Miyamoto questions why Nintendo fans want another F-Zero
Only months after the unveiling of the F-Zero mini-game in Nintendo Land, Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken out about the future of Captain Falcon and friends.
During an interview with French website Gamekult, the Nintendo God was asked why there had not been a new F-Zero title since 2004 and if the series would see a possible revival on the Wii U.
Miyamoto’s response to this question came as a bit of a surprise.
“Since the first episode on SNES many games have been made but the series has evolved very little… I thought people had grown weary of it.”
He continued on by thanking fans for their commitment to the franchise, advising they play the F-Zero mini-game in Nintendo Land, and then questioning what a new F-Zero title could possibly offer.
“I’d like to say: Thank you very much and try to wait by playing Nintendo Land’s F-Zero mini-game.
“I am also very curious and I’d like to ask those people: Why F-Zero? What do you want that we haven’t done before?”
So people, why do we want another F-Zero, and how could Nintendo take the futuristic racing franchise to the next level?
Why would I want another F-zero? That’s like asking why I’d want another Pokemon or Mario game. It’s a game that I love and want to see again for a newer audience to enjoy. Sure, we don’t need another F-Zero, but a lot of people certainly want a new one to enjoy the experience of high-speed racing across the galaxy in a destructive rally that test racers of all ages.
Well that’s easy! Online Multiplayer!
My response to this though is, why must you assume that new entries in a series have to do things differently? I mean it’s often bad for a series to get stale, but I don’t think anyone feels done with F-Zero. The thing is that unlike books where a book written 100 years ago is no different form a book written today, video games are limited to the hardware they’re designed for. Super Mario 64 doesn’t look or run as good as modern Mario games because of hardware limitations. But aside from that, there’s also the fact that old games are much less acessible to people than modern games you can find on the shelf. Virtual Console is fixing this, but we have yet to see F-Zero GX downloadable. And even if it was, F-Zero GX was still limited by the hardware, graphically and gameplay-wise, with the point of online play not being a thing back then.
A new F-Zero game doesn’t have to introduce radical new things. Hell, I wouldn’t mind just a remake of GX with online play, that would satisfy me. But continuations in the series with new content building on what made GX so good is what we want.
Playing online with other people would be the simple answer Mr Miyamoto.
At the very least they should hand of over to the same team at Sega that did fzero GX/AX. They handled it perfectly so at the very least miyamoto won’t have to worry about the specifics. 🙂
Shiggy, you’ve got an upcoming console that can display full 1080p, and a handheld that can display stereoscopic 3D. Did you ever stop and think that F-Zero would be the PERFECT franchise to showcase BOTH of these things?
Besides, as a gamer who never owned a GameCube, I don’t want to have to hunt down a copy of F-Zero GX and buy a GCN memory card just to get my F-Zero fix. I need a newer version for current consoles. A remake of F-Zero GX would probably be fine, but a new one with incremental updates and online multiplayer would be even better.
Also, Streetpass.
Shiggy,
You don’t have to always add new elements to a game, sometimes these new elements ruin a game. take mario Kart double dash and MK wii were almost ruined because of two to a kart and the addition of bikes.
Just new tracks in general and a pumpin sound track would be enough to get me to buy a copy day dot.
Fair point Miyamoto, but I wonder why you don’t apply the same logic to Animal Crossing. It has not evolved since its inception yet Nintendo makes a new version for every console.
A track editor ala Trackmania would be pretty cool too! A new F Zero would be great.
Silly Miyamoto.
Come on, HD graphics alone would expand on what the GCN F-Zero offered. It’s a fast paced game and with updated graphics you could really push on the sense of speed. Plus, add online multiplayer, a track editor, and maybe even the ability to customise/build your own F-Zero vehicle and race as your Mii.
Come on Nintendo, you push out Mario Kart with every new console and yet Miyamoto makes a comment like that relating to F-Zero? F-Zero has the potential to be what wipeout was to Sony, if not even greater!
Here’s what you do: Take GX, make it HD.
Then, do what you do with Mario: Make a whole bunch of new levels. Both for Story Mode and Arcade Mode. Have you normal 10-chapter Falcon story, and perhaps 1 story mission each for every other racer. Throw in a bunch of new customisable parts. Have online multiplayer and leaderboards for race-times with your friends.
Then make a similar version, but for the 3DS.
Then when the next Nintendo console comes out, do it again. Don’t worry, I will tell you when to stop (never).
I think that one of main reason F-Zero fans call for a remake is for nostalgic purposes. This game was amazing as a kid. Piloting an insanely fast space craft to amazing created beats that only intensified the game. How to make it better? You can’t really. However, Captain Falcon is, or at least use to be, a space bounty hunter. Now isn’t there some other bounty hunter in the Nintendo universe? Not to mention the racer James McCloud. Perhaps just a cameo would suit nicely in the form of a cut scene. Anyway its just a thought form a Falcon fan
😀